The type of bed including a frame having a fluid-containing mattress therein, often referred to as a "waterbed", has gained relative widespread recognition in recent years. A primary reason for this has been the claimed increase in sleeping comfort when compared to the conventional bed (e.g., that containing a box spring and coiled spring mattress). One acknowledged drawback of beds of this type, however, has been the inability to adequately secure the bed's bedclothing (e.g., sheets, blankets, bedspread) over the top of the fluid-containing mattress. Techniques employed to provide such securement, including those illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,486,909 and 3,838,470, are deemed unsatisfactory because these require somewhat extensive modification to the waterbed's structure (e.g., frame) or require the utilization of several components (and manual manipulation thereof), which techniques add appreciably to the waterbed's overall cost and/or to the time and effort necessary to adequately orient the bedclothing thereon. Those devices designed specifically for securing the waterbed's fluid-impervious liner to protect against fluid leakage from the matress, such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,279,061 and 3,973,282, have typically possessed similar disadvantages. In addition, such devices have also not proven to be capable of satisfactorily retaining the waterbed's bedclothing.
It is believed, therefore, that a waterbed holder assembly capable of providing facile securement of the waterbed's bedclothing in a manner which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages would constitute a significant advancement in the art.